Where the Heart Is
by 0xymoronic
Summary: Carlos is a fantastic, perfect scientist. Or so says his boyfriend, a charming and sassy radio personality. Despite having a fantastic love life, Carlos misses his family in Colombia...can he bring old and new family together? [I tried so hard to make that sound like a chick flick]


Sunday morning. The smell of scones creeped into the room and a trickle of heat wafted over the bed. Carlos stirred, half-awake, and reached for Cecil. He wasn't there. As he came to his senses, Carlos realized that Cecil was probably the one responsible for the scrumptious scone smell.

He let his head fall back down against the pillow. Sleep still clouding his mind, Carlos remembered the faint sound of bells dotting the hot Sunday mornings of Colombian Sundays.

"Hijo, we're going to be late for church!"

The thought of his mother made Carlos roll over instinctively, looking for Cecil's long, protective arms. Instead, he found himself grasping Cecil's pillow. Time to get out of bed.

When Carlos walked into the kitchen, Cecil was pulling the first batch of scones out of the oven.

"Good morning, sleepyhead," Cecil murmured when Carlos planted a kiss on the man's neck.

"What have we here?" Carlos nodded at the scones.

Cecil beamed proudly at the scones and paused for dramatic efect. "Remember what you said last week about keeping healthy? Well, this morning while you were snoozing I headed down to the farmer's market and picked up some local fruit of the season! Well, what I got is mostly cactus flowers and some strange sparkling berries, but I cannot say no to supporting my local farming community!"

Cecil's attempt to trick Carlos into a health kick with his scones made Carlos have one of those explosions of warmth and butterflies that make you weak at the knees. He couldn't find any logical explanation for the way his body reacted when Cecil talked to him, let alone when he touched him.

Together they set the table and placed the now cooler scones in a small bread basket.

"Wow, you really invested in kitchen ware, didn't you?" Carlos said, holding the bread basket.

"Well, one can never invest too much into the home," Cecil replied with a smile.

They both ate a few scones with butter and jam, then sat silently in the warmth of Cecil's tastefully-decorated kitchen. Cecil let out a content sigh and took hold of Carlos's hand. Again, Carlos felt that rush of heat throughout his body. He unconsciously bit his lip and turned to look at Cecil, who had, of course, been looking at him with a sparkle in all three of his eyes.

"This feels like a morning with the family, doesn't it?" Cecil said casually.

Carlos was stricken by how quickly with Cecil had associated him with family. Again, Carlos thought of his mother. He thought of how much Cecil would enjoy his abuelita's cooking, and how fascinated his sisters would be with this incredible man.

"Honey?"

Cecil's voice snapped Carlos back into the present, back to Cecil's lovely kitchen.

"Did you have a vision? Did you see a ghost? Anything interesting and worth sharing with the rest of Night Vale?" Cecil spurted almost automatically as he cleared the dishes from the kitchen table.

"Actually," Carlos began, not entirely convinced of what he was saying, "I've been thinking…trying to figure out a way to…you see, in an experiment, we would be a dependent variable and my family—I mean, my mother, my grandmother, my sisters all back in Colombia—they would be the independent variable, and—"

"Wait, wait," Cecil put a finger to Carlos's lips. Carlos instantly shut up and jumped a little in his chair. "Are you asking me," Cecil continued cautiously, "to meet your family in Colombia?"

Carlos bit his lip and looked into Cecil's eyes. "Essentially, yes—" Carlos was cut short by Cecil who nearly knocked his breath out with a tight hug.

"Oh, Carlos!" Cecil breathed. "I can't even tell you how happy I am! I think we should go for Christmas, what do you think? I bet we can start planning soon! October is just around the corner—"

"It's July!" Carlos cut in, snapping out of his stupor. He couldn't believe he was taking someone to meet his family. He hadn't been back in Colombia in so long, he wasn't even sure how his family would receive him…

"Earth to Carlos!" Cecil waved his hand in front of Carlos's face. "Stop spacing out on me, babe. We've got dishes to do, and then I need your help with some music for the show."

Carlos tried to set aside the trip idea for the day, but he just couldn't. He knew Cecil would start organizing the trip _months_ in advance and would have every detail down. At some point Cecil would break down and hide out in the radio station, locking himself from the world. Carlos would have to lure him out with crêpes and freshly-made croissants with strawberry jam—

Once again, Carlos caught himself drifting. It was impossible for him to stay focused with so much action lined up for the rest of the year. More importantly, he will go back to the one other place that he loves more that the humble town of Night Vale—his native Colombia.


End file.
